Bryant_Reeves
Bryant Reeves
American basketball player
Bryant Reeves (born June 8, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Reeves spent his entire career with the National Basketball Association's Vancouver Grizzlies, playing with the team from 1995 until 2001. He was nicknamed "Big Country" by his college teammate Byron Houston after Reeves was amazed by the size of the United States following his first cross-country airplane flight,[1] having grown up in the small community of Gans, Oklahoma.[2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1973-06-08) June 8, 1973 (age 50) Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 290 lb (132 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Gans (Gans, Oklahoma) |
| College | Oklahoma State (1991–1995) |
| NBA draft | 1995: 1st round, 6th overall pick |
| Selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies | |
| Playing career | 1995–2002 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 50 |
| Career history | |
| 1995–2002 | Vancouver / Memphis Grizzlies |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 4,945 (12.5 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,745 (6.9 rpg) |
| Blocks | 302 (0.8 bpg) |
Stats  at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Standing 7 feet (210 cm) tall and weighing between 275 and 300 pounds (125 and 136 kg), Reeves was an imposing physical presence on the court and was primed to become a dominant center in the NBA. He had a strong collegiate career with Oklahoma State University, where he averaged 21.5 points per game as a senior and led OSU to the 1995 Final Four.
Vancouver / Memphis Grizzlies (1995–2002)
Reeves became the Grizzlies' first-ever draft choice, selected sixth overall in the 1995 NBA draft.[3]
Reeves played six seasons with the Grizzlies. After averaging 13.3 points per game in a solid rookie season, he averaged 16.2 points per game in 1996–97 season and was subsequently awarded with a six-year, $61.8 million contract extension. The next season was his best, when he averaged 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.08 blocked shots per game. During that season he scored a career-high 41 points against the Boston Celtics.
After 1998, weight-control problems and injuries began to take a toll on Reeves, and his numbers fell off dramatically.[4] He was still the starting center for the Grizzlies, but his minutes per game dropped, and his field goal percentage dropped significantly. Eventually, after the Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 2001, Reeves started the season on the injured list due to chronic back pain and was never able to play another game (the only games he played with the team in Memphis were two preseason games). During the preseason play in the fall of 2001, Reeves had experienced back pain after just two preseason games.[5] On January 29, 2002, the Grizzlies announced Reeves' retirement from the league due to chronic back pain caused by degenerative discs.[6] At the time he was the Grizzlies all-time leader in games played with 395.[7]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | Vancouver | 77 | 63 | 24.9 | .457 | .000 | .732 | 7.4 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 13.3 |
| 1996–97 | Vancouver | 75 | 75 | 37.0 | .486 | .091 | .704 | 8.1 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 16.2 |
| 1997–98 | Vancouver | 74 | 74 | 34.1 | .523 | .000 | .706 | 7.9 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 16.3 |
| 1998–99 | Vancouver | 25 | 14 | 28.1 | .406 | .000 | .578 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 10.8 |
| 1999–00 | Vancouver | 69 | 67 | 25.7 | .448 | .000 | .648 | 5.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 8.9 |
| 2000–01 | Vancouver | 75 | 48 | 24.4 | .460 | .250 | .796 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 8.3 |
| Career | 395 | 341 | 30.6 | .475 | .074 | .703 | 6.9 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 12.5 | |
Bryant was the subject of Kathleen Jayme's documentary film Finding Big Country in 2018.[8] Following his career, Reeves went back to Oklahoma and is now a cattle farmer and a family man, living on a ranch in Sequoyah County.[9] His son Trey was a three year walk on at Oklahoma State, earning a scholarship his final year and was accepted to Harvard Law School.[10][11]
- "Reeves retired with back injury". United Press International. 29 January 2002. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- "Back to the country - Back injury forces Grizzlies' Reeves to retirement". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 29 January 2002. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- Dana Gee, "Finding Big Country documentary answers the whatever happened to question". Vancouver Sun, December 4, 2018.
- Writer, BILL HAISTEN World Sports (3 July 2020). "Back to the Country: Former OSU basketball great Bryant Reeves savors life on a piece of paradise in Sequoyah County". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- "Son of Bryant 'Big Country' Reeves is surprised when he is given a scholarship at Oklahoma State". CBSSports.com. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- Unruh, Jacob. "'He really is gifted': How Trey Reeves went from Oklahoma State walk-on to Harvard Law School". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- Historical Player Profile at NBA.com
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com
and Basketball-Reference.com - TheDraftReview.com: Bryant Reeves's NBA Draft History Page